Neobanking startup Muvin winds up operations: Report

New Delhi : Neobanking startup Muvin has reportedly shut down its operations, as per a Reserve Bank of India (RBI)'s directive to stop using Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in a co-branding arrangement. A notification sent by Muvin to its users read that the "Muvin card programme has been closed".

"Any available balance is being migrated to the "Issuer Livquik" app. The migration is expected to be finished by February 1 and we would notify next steps to access your balance. Thank you for the support and we regret that Muvin is unable to support your journey towards financial literacy," said the notification.

The Muvin app was also not available on Google Play Store, reports Entrackr. Co-founded by Vineet Gupta and Mukund Rao, Muvin used to cater to both teens and young adults through its prepaid card and mobile app.

Muvin had raised $3 million in a pre-Series A round led by WaterBridge Ventures in January 2022. In June 2023, the RBI had directed prepaid payment instrument (PPI) issuers to stop UPI in a co-branding arrangement.

The directive had forced DreamX (Dream11), Fampay, Akudo, Muvin and CheqUPI to discontinue UPI services as they did not hold PPI license. Leading US-based investment firm Y Combinator-backed Akudo, a teenagers-focused neo-banking platform, also shut down its core UPI and card business in September last year.

Akudo, founded by Lavika Aggarwal, Khanna, and Jagveer Gandhi, is a digital bank for teenagers that offers debit cards that can be controlled by parents. The firm raised $4.2 million led by Y Combinator, JAFCO Asia, Incubate Fund India and AET Fund. Tribe Capital, Cabra Capital, and a few other investors also took part in the round, which was announced in September 2021.